Original Timmy Chan's

Your first mistake is thinking that the wards are restricted only to areas with certain income levels and home sizes. The "wards" don't refer to certain subdivisions, but to the original political districts of Houston. The "ward" system was in place until 1906. Even though the wards are no longer active political districts, we still refer to the original areas as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th wards. According to the original political boundaries, Houston was divided into 4 quadrants by Main Street and Congress Ave. The "northern" quadrant was the 1st Ward, the eastern is the 2nd, southern is the 3rd, and western is the 4th ward. The 5th and 6th wards were separate areas to the northeast and west of town, respectively. As far as the Heights goes, it was its own municipality, separate and apart from Houston, and wasn't annexed in until 1918, so it was never part of the original "wards". Same with Rice Military...historically and geographically it wasn't part of the wards. Technically speaking, Riverside Terrace and Washington Terrace were not "Third Ward", since the ward system was disbanded (1906) before they were built (1920's). However, geographically, the Terraces ABSOLUTELY are part of the Third Ward. You don't pick and choose where Third Ward is based on income or the size of the house, despite what many in the "Museum District" choose to think. It's funny that what is now called the Museum District was referred to (correctly, by the way) as the Third Ward just 10 years ago. I guess as white people moved in, no one wanted the 3rd Ward moniker! Funny, it was 3rd Ward when the wealthy Jews built it and lived there, but today there's a negative associated with the wards in some peoples' minds.

I noticed that...what's the difference? We have noticed that we seem to get better gas mileage out west where they have lower octane gas. Is there a correlation? I usually get 30 mpg in Houston, but I'll get 32-33 mpg out west....and even had gas mileage approaching 36-37 mpg on a couple tanks up in Colorado a few years ago.

I noticed this a couple weeks ago when I was in southwestern New Mexico. The most expensive gas we bought the entire trip from Houston to Silver City and back was right here in Houston, $2.95/gallon. We didn't see anything above $2.89 the rest of the trip, which surprised me, since we've noticed that gas is usually 30-40 cents higher in little remote West Texas and New Mexico towns than it is in Houston. The most remote gas station we went to was probably in Mimbres Valley, NM...I would guess it's about population 100, and located about 3-4 hours from the nearest interstate, and there's one gas pump in the whole "town." Gas was $2.74 there, more than 20 cents cheaper than Houston. The cheapest gas we saw the whole trip was in El Paso, at $2.64/gallon...30 cents cheaper than Houston. Maybe El Paso doesn't have to use the additives for air quality...although their air quality was visibly MUCH worse than Houston's.

Apparently the Pink Pussycat moved to Richmond along with the Beer Cellar. I've been to the Beer Cellar a few times back around 1999 when a friend's band played there, but didn't realize that it and the Pink Pussycat had previously been downtown. I never went into the Pink Pussycat, but I have friends who did...they said there was a certain *odor* in the air that hit you as soon as you opened the door. From what they said, the club and its dancers were pretty nasty. I do like the bowling alley idea for Bayou Place. As sevfiv pointed out, there will be a "high-class" bowling alleyin Houston Pavilions. But I think it was only going to be 15 lanes or something like that. Doesn't sound like my kind of bowling alley....I'd like to see one where: a) smoking is mandatory, or at least encouraged, it has more bowling lanes than Chuck E. Cheese has skeeball lanes, and c) it's unpretentious (I'm OK with it if it's described as "low-class" bowling...that's what it should be.)

I agree 100%. Of course, I was born and raised on the SE side (Pasadena, Beverly Hills, Sagemont, University of Houston, and now South Union.) Outside of a 4-year stint in Ohio (thanks to the late 80's economy in Houston) and a few post-college years on the southwest and west sides of town (close to work), I've lived my entire life on the SE side (between SH 288 and SH 225...plus UH). Personally I can't understand why anyone wants or needs to travel north of I-10 in Houston! Much less actually LIVE there. My wife (born and raised in South Union) joins me in this belief. Any time we're north of I-10, it's like we're in a foreign land...I think people even have a different accent north of I-10. SOUTH SIIIIIIIIIDE!

Go to Ruchi's...there's never a reason to pay more than a buck for a taco! That's one downside of living where we do (288/610)....there's not many taquerias close-by. We have to drive all the way over to S. Main and 610 (Ruchi's) or over to the Gulfgate area to find a taqueria. Sure, it's only a 3- to 5-minute drive, but that's further than I've had to go at any previous residence! The Ruchis on the South Loop has always been good to me. I wasn't a fan of the one on Gessner and Westpark (now long gone).

Would this 4-acres be in the southern quadrant (I guess you could call it the SE corner?) of the intersection of Alabama and Almeda? I noticed a month or two ago from 288/59 that a few blocks in that area were cleared. If that's to be "transit-oriented" development, which I assume to mean rail, can we also assume that the Universities line is now slated to go down Alabama? That would allow the rail to hit HCC, TSU and UH (or within a block or two of TSU, at least). If the alignment continued down Alabama to the west, it would also hit UST (although a Richmond alignment in that area would get you within a block or two of UST). Am I reading too much into this article?

I did not know that bit of history. I always wondered why I feel compelled to get nekkid when I'm in that gazebo. I thought it was just the $%#@ing strong a$$ drinks they pour there!

Interesting...it'll come almost as close to earth as our moon! I just looked it up, and the moon's average distance from the earth is 238,856 miles (the moon's elliptical orbit varies from 225,745 mi. to 251,967 mi. from the earth.) That seems pretty close.

I've seen a couple of these in the neighborhood...I had no idea they such prestigious vehicles! I might just stop and salute next time I see one!

Like Ricco, evacuation plans depend on the storm. I didn't want to leave last year, but the wife overruled my decision. I think most of that had to do with the post-Katrina media hype. Of course, when Rita was a Category 5, stronger than Katrina was, and heading straight towards Freeport, I felt like my wife had made the right decision to get us on the road! That being said, I think we're far enough inland that we don't have to worry. Storm surge is definitely not a problem for us, but winds could be. I lived in Sagemont when Alicia hit, and while the hurricane winds didn't affect our house, many houses lost their roofs to both the hurricane and the tornadoes. My current house didn't suffer any damage in Alicia...but my wife said there was plenty of tree damage (uprooted trees, downed limbs) in the neighborhood. If I'm facing the prospects of broken windows and roof damage, I'd like to be here to fix it immediately, rather than come back days later and discover the damage. I think that's as bad as it'll get here at our house...

Apparently I'm in the same boat as you! I've been with my employer for 10 years now and have never seen a slow period. We stay busy as hell, but like they say, it's better than the alternative. I think anyone who's in the real estate/homebuilding/engineering/architecture industry here in Houston will understand that. Of course, I combat work fatigue with frequent trips to HAIF. So what do people do in big corporations when things are slow. Do you worry about getting laid off? I understand that that's common business practice in large engineering corporations...they hire people on contract to staff up for a big project, and as soon as it's done, everyone is gone. The contract folks then sit around hoping that the company gets another big project. While it's slow, do you openly sit back and put your feet on your desk, or do you try to give the appearance of working?

I made it to Mexia in 4 hours during the Rita evacuation...if you discount the 4 hours it took to drive from Tomball to Magnolia. Outside of that little 12-mile stretch (average speed = 3 mph), we were pretty well cruising at 70 mph the whole way.

I gotta disagree with C2H... I LOVE the look on SH 288. My personal tastes definitely run toward a wilder, natural look over a meticulously trimmed, English garden look. I've never noticed any weeds, either. I like the green there...I hope it never goes away! I also would like to see the plantings extend south all the way to the South Loop.

UH has already installed the upgraded stadium lighting at Robertson (which was needed to satisfy the networks that televise night games), and I understand that a new video scoreboard is next up...it will apparently double the size of the existing video screen and improve its graphics quality. There's also a rumor that the Dynamo are getting close to committing an additional $20 million to upgrade Robertson Stadium...if that's true, then there will be no SSS; Robertson would be the permanent home of MLS in Houston. The money would allow upgrades to the press box and a new end zone facility (which would include administrative offices, locker rooms, seating, suites), and potentially allow for other improvements.

Pandora is pretty sweet...although one night it took me down a bad path, where I somehow started with the Minutemen and ended up with Poison and Great White. All it took was a couple clicks and I'll never hear Poison again!

The old adage is true...pimpin' ain't easy...

I've got to agree with Jason on at least one point...I think this is really a thread to meant for us Houstonians to pat ourselves on the back, while pointing the "finger of shame" at Dallas. Let's be honest about this too...if you had asked the Mayor and County Judge last August, "can Houston/Harris County accept 200,000 evacuees within a 24- to 36-hour period, without any preparation?", we all know the answer would be a resounding "NO!" There's a big difference between planning and doing. When you're up against the something like we faced last year, you find a way to do the impossible. I'm 100% confident that if Houston faced a Katrina-sized disaster, Dallas would find a way to accept all of us, and more.

Exactly. I just wish white people would dress white and black people would dress black. And what's up with black people talking white?!? [/sarcasm]

I can usually find something decent to listen to between KUHF (88.7), KPFT (90.1), KTSU (90.9), KTRU (91.7), The Bizzox 97.9 or 104.9. And if I ever feel the need to hear Led Zeppelin or Rush, I know I can always change to 93.7 and hear one of those two bands at any hour of the day.

The Four Seasons is also nice. My wife and I have stayed there a couple of times, and I don't think we've paid $150 for a room. We always enjoy a drink in their bar, and even though they're away from most of the action downtown, they do have a complimentary towncar service. We also stayed at the Magnolia once and enjoyed that as well. Between the two, we found the Four Seasons to have better service overall.

MODERATORS PLEASE LOCK OR DELETE THIS THREAD! There is absolutely NO EXCUSE for the things being said about my humble master, Lord Maaaaarvin Zindlerrrrrrrrrrrrrr. You blasphemers shall spend eternity freezing in the slime of the ice machine. You will feel the pain of off-temperature meat as it winds through your bowels. You will sleep in a bed of rodent droppings! Bow to the blue-glassed, plastic-faced warrior of TRUTH!!! Sincerely, Marvin's Angel (Isn't He beautiful?)

Felipe Fegundes or, Lady Santa Monica as I'm known in the industry. Actually, now that I think about it, my REAL porno name should be Puppy Dog Perez. I'm not sure if I prefer Lady Santa Monica or Puppy Dog Perez... Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't?

And bring back the poll tax too!!! I think that the results of our last presidential election is sufficient proof that there should be a minimum literacy requirement to vote. And the candidates the major parties gives us are evidence that the Republicans and Democrats are functionally illiterate as well... I like our (at least nominally) non-partisan elections for our city leaders here in Houston. I wonder how that would work for the US?

"Sailor, baby, you're really something!" Uh...and to keep this thread on track: White.